By Nicole Lyons,
November 25, 2025
Muleskinner Editor in Chief Sadie Staker receives a Pinnacle Award for second place
on
Oct. 17 at the College Media Association鈥檚 MediaFest Convention.
The Muleskinner, the 欧美视频鈥檚 (UCM) student newspaper, received
several awards at the Fall 2025 National College Media Association鈥檚 MediaFest Convention,
hosted Oct. 15-18 in Washington, D.C.
鈥淚鈥檓 incredibly proud to see our Muleskinner students鈥 hard work and storytelling
recognized on the national stage,鈥 said Julie Lewis, Ph.D., Muleskinner adviser and
associate professor. 鈥淭heir commitment to quality journalism and community connection
reflects the very best of UCM鈥檚 spirit and mission.鈥
received three awards in the Associated Collegiate Press鈥檚 Best of Show competition:
10th place in the Newspaper/Newsmagazine category for its September 2025 print edition,
10th place in the Website category and seventh place in the Digital Newsletter category.
The Muleskinner competed against four-year colleges with a population of 15,000 or
fewer.
"I'm so honored to be part of a team as hard-working as ours. Every single person
put their heart into this paper and the results speak for themselves,鈥 Muleskinner
Features Editor Jess Cooper said.
The Muleskinner also received a Pinnacle Award, which is the College Media Association鈥檚
highest honor for student work. Muleskinner students Sadie Staker and Krish Gyawali
won second place in the Feature Package (audio/video) category for their video titled
鈥 The Muleskinner competed in Division 1, which is for schools with a student population
of more than 10,000.
鈥淚 was excited and surprised that we placed so well,鈥 Muleskinner Editor in Chief
Sadie Staker said. 鈥淭he story we were able to tell through our video, which explored
the reasons why Missourians use Amtrak, was meaningful and highlighted the wonderful
community that exists across Missouri.鈥
The video was part of the Muleskinner鈥檚 Backpack Journalism Project, in which student
journalists collaborated with Amtrak and the Missouri River Runner to provide traveling
coverage of Missouri cities throughout the 2024-25 school year.
鈥淭he 欧美视频's mission is to improve our geographical area,
not only for our students, but for the entire region,鈥 said David Pearce, executive
director of Governmental Relations. 鈥淭heir efforts through the Backpack Journalism
project positively impacted our region and contributed to the positive image of UCM
and higher education.鈥
The Muleskinner team gathers to celebrate UCM Homecoming in October.